Help! There’s a bat that had somehow got into my house! Might have been because I accidently left my window open overnight. It’s dangling off the lampshade as I’m typing and I don’t know what to do about it. I’ve tried opening the door and windows to shoo it off. But it doesn’t work! How to get a bat out of your house?

2 Answers

A bat got into your house somehow? There could be a few reasons on how and why. Rather than leaving the window or the door open, there is a really high likelihood that your house is sheltering its very own bat colony. It could be in the attic, the chimney or the walls even, and some of them find their way into your room. Now that you have what essentially is a rat with wings flying around, the first thing to do is not to panic! It’s not going to fly onto you or attack you, it’s just trapped and really terribly trying to find its way out.

You got a number of options on getting rid of it. The easiest one is to simply open all the doors and windows. Eventually with its excellent echolocation, it SHOULD find its way out. Attempting to shoo it away might instead disrupt this path finding method. I don’t really recommend trying to catch it to get rid of it. They are pretty fragile rodents and could be difficult to catch without accidently hurting them. Anyway, assuming that the bat has left you alone, it’s time to get your house inspected for the bat infestation. Honestly, you won’t want to do this part by yourself. Leave it to a professional’s experience and attention for the bat control.

How to get a bat out of your house? To start with, grab and always wear a glove, preferably a leather glove (oven mitts should work well too). Avoid using your bare hands directly. This is critical to protecting yourself against rabies. Yes, bats do gives rabies. If it is flying around, wait for it to land, then keep your distant away from it. If it lands on a low ground, try to toss a towel over it. The weight of the towel will prevent the bad from taking off without causing any injury. Now scoop the towel up, keeping the bar safely wrapped inside.

If it lands somewhere higher, maybe on the wall or ceiling, then use a bucket or a can to contain the bat. Scrape the bat off the wall and carefully cover the entry with paper or a plastic folder. Now that you have captured the bat, get it to a neat distance away from your house before releasing it. Then run back and close off all the doors and windows so it won’t try to trap itself again. If you fail the above method, then just open all the windows and doors. It might pity your failing attempts and just leave voluntarily. And rabies? It’s less common these days, but if you are worried (or been bitten), then do get yourself checked for rabies.